Sprained knee in February...

[Atty]

Went to ER the morning after (happened late at night) because of the swelling and had X-Rays and an evaluation, determined to be a sprain, was given medications and advice on healing. Shortly afterwords I saw a physical therapist who did a full work up and evaluation of my knee. Did therapy and had multiple visits and checks done. Was told I was healing fine, if not faster than normal, and to expect 100% return to pre-injury ability after 6 months.

I spent some time running this weekend, was playing around with some friends, and afterwords my knee was very swollen. I've also had trouble, maybe its a mental block or its something physical, but I can't seem to do one legged lifts on that leg. Today when doing one legged straight leg deadlifts I had trouble keeping my balance and posture on my hurt knee.

Is this all normal progression? I don't really have a lot of pain, some dull soreness every now and again, very rarely anything more severe. I don't want to go back to a doctor and fork over more money, as I don't have insurance.

Anyone been through a knee sprain and lived to tell the tale? Any information is appreciated, thanks guys!

 

[SociallyChallenged]

The knee itself doesn't get sprained - the ligaments around and within it do. Do you know which ligament(s) was/were sprained? ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament), LCL (lateral collateral ligament)? There are others, but those are the most common to injure. If you can't remember, can you give us the story on how you did it? The mechanism may give rise to the structure indirectly.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

The knee itself doesn't get sprained - the ligaments around and within it do. Do you know which ligament(s) was/were sprained? ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), MCL (medial collateral ligament), LCL (lateral collateral ligament)? There are others, but those are the most common to injure. If you can't remember, can you give us the story on how you did it? The mechanism may give rise to the structure indirectly.

Could also be a meniscus tear. If the OP never had an MRI, any diagnosis is going to be questionable.

 

[Atty]

Never had an MRI.

Socially, I slipped and my knee felt like it popped out sideways away from the other leg and then popped in by the time I hit the ground completely. My PT said that my meniscus was "curled" from the injury and that my walking was off due to un-alignment after the injury. Various exercises got it back to normal. The majority of the pain was on the inside of the knee, whichever tendon would be closest to the inside of my other leg.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Could also be a meniscus tear. If the OP never had an MRI, any diagnosis is going to be questionable.

Actually, that's not true. Physiologic and accessory motion tests are actually more reliable than MRI, if used in sets of tests. Likely, that's what the physical therapist did. Considering the OP describes something that likely involved the MCL, it's probably that he had some meniscus involvement. It also seems the PT addressed that.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Never had an MRI.

Socially, I slipped and my knee felt like it popped out sideways away from the other leg and then popped in by the time I hit the ground completely. My PT said that my meniscus was "curled" from the injury and that my walking was off due to un-alignment after the injury. Various exercises got it back to normal. The majority of the pain was on the inside of the knee, whichever tendon would be closest to the inside of my other leg.

Ok, so off the top, that sounds more like an MCL injury from your description. If it truly were a sprain, compared to a tear, you should definitely be back to almost or completely normal function by now. Have you kept up with your exercises at least a couple times per week? If not, that likely has something to do with your situation now.

 

[Atty]

I have tried to, I admit to of been lacking in the past month or so. But I have been doing leg workouts, more agility and flexibility lifts than the brute force weighted compound lifts.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

The reason I mentioned the meniscus tear is that this would likely not get better on its own. I would go see an orthopedist.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

The reason I mentioned the meniscus tear is that this would likely not get better on its own. I would go see an orthopedist.

If it's in the red zone of the meniscus (i.e. the vascular part), it actually would heal just fine. The external rim where the MCL attaches at the medial meniscus is in the red zone so if it wasn't too deep, it wouldn't matter. Plus, the OP doesn't complain about weightbearing sensitivity, an essential sign for articular issues.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I have tried to, I admit to of been lacking in the past month or so. But I have been doing leg workouts, more agility and flexibility lifts than the brute force weighted compound lifts.

It seems that you're trying to work at a higher caliber than what your knee is ready for. Drop it back, pick your exercises back up, and ramp it up slowly. See if that helps.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

If it's in the red zone of the meniscus (i.e. the vascular part), it actually would heal just fine. The external rim where the MCL attaches at the medial meniscus is in the red zone so if it wasn't too deep, it wouldn't matter. Plus, the OP doesn't complain about weightbearing sensitivity, an essential sign for articular issues.

He said he couldn't do one legged lifts on the that side. If he was referring to lunges or leg press aren't those weight bearing and consistent with a meniscus injury?